Warrior Souls
by Gemini14
Summary: In the Sea of Stars, nothing is impossible, and even ancient souls can lose their way. Can one soul in particular find his place in a time that sees him as only a legend?
1. Part One

Warrior Souls

Part One

His life was hell, plain and simple. Every day for the past month or so, it was constant, fiery pain, and then moments when he thought he would pass out from it, and his inability to breathe. It had been going on for so long, that he'd forgotten when the metal monstrosity around his neck had come to be there……And, because of it, his strength was waning. At his side, an old friend worriedly lingered; blue eyes showing the emotion very clearly. His companion could remember the days when they had fought, side-by-side, and the seemingly invincible strength that had flowed within them then…..Bothered by this situation all the more, because of the man's rapid decline. Those selfsame blue eyes narrowed, when he remembered the day when the electricity had finally stopped flowing within the metal band around his friend's neck; the death-cries of the torturers as he'd torn them asunder with his claws, and the taste of their blood as he'd ripped them apart with his fangs. Even now, the thought of it sickened him.

"_He needs help_….._Won't last much longer_….._Must find help._" The creature thought, before taking off in search of someone who could either help his friend…..or give him a respectful burial.

……………………

Lightningtooth could only chuckle; when he heard a surprised yelp come from Harlock's quarters, and then a loud crash.

"Fell asleep in your chair again, I see. You need to stop doing that, old friend. You'll ruin your back that way." Lightningtooth chortled, as he trotted into the room; smirking when he saw the captain's booted feet disappear behind the desk, and then saw Harlock peer irritably around the corner of the piece of furniture at him.

"Tell me something I don't know." Harlock muttered, moodily, as he slowly got back up; his back cracking slightly when he stood up and stretched, and wincing at the sound of it.

"You have a bed, you know. Why do you keep falling asleep at the desk?" Lightningtooth questioned, curiously. At this, he got a shrug from the pirate captain in response.

"Habit, I guess." Harlock replied, as he made his way to the wine cabinet and pulled out the brandy; freezing suddenly when his hand brushed up against the ancient bottle of leftover sake, and when a vague feeling of pain emerged in his neck.

"Harlock?" Lightningtooth asked, when he'd noticed the change in his friend, and becoming minutely concerned. All in a moment, Harlock returned to himself; shaking his head to free it of the sensations he'd felt.

"The old wound left from that electrocution ring is starting to bother me again…..and I can only wonder why." Harlock murmured; his tone now very subdued and distracted, and his eye getting a troubled look in it.

"You haven't done anything to it recently that would cause it to hurt, have you?" Lightningtooth questioned; getting a shake of the head from the space pirate captain, as a response.

"Not that I can recall…..And the pain usually only strikes when I accidentally touch the old bottle of sake that's been left in here…..Why would there be such a connection to it? And why now, of all times, when there hadn't been anything before?" Harlock asked, bewildered by this, to say the least.

"If that's the case….then maybe someone or something is calling out to you through that jug. And, since you have experienced a similar pain, you can feel it from whoever it is, as well." Lightningtooth suggested; sensing that there was more to this than even Harlock realized.

"How can we know for sure?" Harlock again asked. This got a smile from the blue-eyed wolf.

"I might be able to trace the feelings to their source through you, by using you as my medium. I'm not the Doctor's TARDIS, granted, but I can get us there, no problem." Lightningtooth stated; smiling slightly when Harlock rolled his eye at this idea, and knowing that his friend knew that he would be in very hot water, when the crew found out and caught up with them.

"I can only hope you know what you're doing, and that the tracer in my belt buckle still works….." Harlock muttered, reluctantly, then picked up the jug. This time, the feeling of pain was weaker; hinting that whoever had been unconsciously sending it through time and space, wouldn't be doing so for much longer.

"_We need to hurry._" Was the thought shared by both Harlock and Lightningtooth, before the wolf's powers surrounded the both of them, and they were gone in a flash of light.

…………………………….

All was still within the clearing he had collapsed in, as late afternoon segued into evening. Very faintly, he could feel it when the temperature began to drop; the chill of winter beginning to make its presence known.

"_Soon_……_there will be snow_……_Life will slumber beneath its own blanket_….._until spring. What was it I used to say? Oh. That's right_….._Cherry blossoms in the spring_….."

A few yards away, something was beginning to happen; a sort of ripple was appearing in front of him.

"_Stars in the summer_……."

The vortex was widening; stretching itself to allow two creatures to pass through it…..One appeared to be a man dressed in a black uniform and cloak, the other, a huge, midnight-black wolf.

"_Full moon in autumn_……."

Within moments, the pair was standing within the clearing with him; their eyes widening in horror when they beheld his battered and obviously dying state.

"_And the snow in winter_……_is enough to make_……_sake_……_taste good._" The man thought; smiling vaguely at the next thought that crossed his mind, "_I wish I had some_….._At least then_……_dying wouldn't be such a wretched thing._"

"Oh, by the Great Packs……" a voice murmured, in utter horror and shock; prompting the dying man into looking up. No sooner had he done so, did what appear to be a wolf approach, with his human companion following not far behind. Even as muddled as his mind was, he still tried to smirk, and say something to them; only managing a choking gasp, instead.

"Easy, friend. Don't try to talk." The wolf murmured; when he'd heard the strangled note in the gasp, and had turned concerned blue eyes towards his master.

"He's in worse shape than I was, before the _**Arcadia**_ came to retrieve me from the hunters….." the man muttered, as he then carefully pushed aside a long, thick strand of dark hair away from the dying man's neck; his eye narrowing when he beheld what appeared to be a metal ring. The wolf's eyes narrowed as well.

"An electrocution ring. Damn, I have seen my fill of those." The man snarled, then gave the dying man a determined look, "Think you can sit up a bit more? I'm going to try and get this damned thing off of you." Without a word, the other man valiantly struggled into a more upright sitting position; the strain of doing so becoming readily apparent, as he struggled to breathe despite the ring digging ever deeper into his neck.

"Now, hold still." The dark-clothed man said, then started to un-holster the pistol on his hip. For a brief moment, the other man stiffened and gave him a look of obvious unease, then quickly calmed and closed his dark eyes.

"_If there's no other way_……_then so be it._" He mused. Either way, at the very least, he would finally be free of the wicked thing. Yet, before the dark-clothed man could even pull the trigger, another creature roared into the clearing; blue eyes alight with feral rage and determination to protect his lifelong friend.

"Whoa!!" the dark-clothed man yelped; leaping back so the creature's claws and fangs wouldn't tear into him. In a flash, the wolf was standing before him; gazing determinedly into furious eyes that were the same shade of blue as his own.

"Calm down, friend. We are not trying to harm your master…..Far from it." The wolf tried to say, in an effort to placate the huge, feline creature that stood bristling before him.

"_Say what you will! Men such as your master have been torturing my friend for months on end! I __will __not__ let him put down my friend as though he were nothing more than a broken-down horse!_" the feline raged; his fury at the dying man's plight very easily felt, as well as seen.

"That is not what we're trying to do, here." Lightningtooth tried to say; trying his best to talk his way out of a useless fight, and make the bristling feline see what it was they were trying to do. And then, in another mighty effort, the other man reached out to the great cat, and ran his fingers through its' dark, blue-striped mane. Calming at the touch, the cat turned and gave its master a confused look; moving aside only when it saw the determined glint in the man's ebon eyes, and saw him nod resolutely.

"_This might be my only chance_….." the man thought, as he once again went still, closed his eyes, and angled his neck in such a way to make the shot easier. Seconds later, the shot was fired from the pistol, the blast hit the ring dead-center, and the ring itself finally fell from the man's badly burnt neck. With a pain-filled groan, he fell forward into his unusual Good Samaritan's arms; struggling to pull as much oxygen into his air-deprived lungs as he could, and blearily looking gratefully up into the other's single eye as he did so.

"Thank….you….." he managed to whisper, through a painfully protesting throat. At this, he got a grim smile from the black-garbed man.

"It was the least I could do…..Since I know full well how painful those hell-cursed rings can be. I myself had experienced it, firsthand." The dark-clothed man replied, honestly, as he helped him lie back against the weathered stones; taking care with how he moved him, as he did so.

"Have you activated the tracer yet, Harlock?" the wolf asked, in a tone much more subdued than before.

"What do you think I'm doing now, old friend?" the dark-clothed man replied, as he pressed something behind his belt buckle, and a soft red light started to shine from it. And yet, even with this unusual turn of events, and the questions he had for the pair, his mind was becoming foggier by the minute.

"I only hope they hurry…..This warrior won't last much longer without medical attention." The wolf stated, worriedly; his voice beginning to echo within the other man's brain, until, at last, consciousness faded……and darkness fell.

……………………

Kei Yuki could only worriedly glance over her shoulder, from time to time, at the empty captain's chair, and the alien woman keeping vigil there. In only a few hours, they had discovered that the captain was missing from the ship, as was his wolf, and that said ship had just begun to respond to a familiar signal…..A signal only the _**Arcadia**_ and a few other ships could pick up on.

"I hope nothing bad has happened to him, this time." Kei murmured, fretfully.

"Harlock is uninjured, so far…..But he's extremely worried about someone. He's hoping that we'll get there in time to help this person….." La Miime stated, sensing through her empathic connection to their missing captain that time wasn't on their side.

"Then let's go ahead and put the engines through their paces! All ahead full!" Yattaran shouted, getting an automatic compliance from the _**Arcadia**_ that told them that the ship agreed with that, wholeheartedly.

"_We're coming, Harlock. For whoever it is that needs the help, we're coming as fast as we can!_" Kei thought, as they all put every ounce of effort into getting there in time to save just that one life.

……………………………

Harlock sighed as he restlessly fed dried branches to the flames of a small campfire; looking up when Lightningtooth approached his side.

"Still hanging in there?" Harlock asked, when he'd seen the grave look in the wolf's azure eyes.

"Barely. His throat wound is infected…..and it's causing difficulties in breathing. He also has an almost dangerously high fever because of it, as well. All told, I'm amazed he's even still alive. The wounds and the sickness they have caused would have killed a normal man, long before now." Lightningtooth replied, as he gave the ill man a look of deep respect before saying, "His will to live must be as strong, or even stronger, than yours' old friend."

"It is to be expected, from a man such as him. He looks to be a swordsman of some standing……and the way he looks reminds me of a description I had heard of another strong-willed warrior from a long time ago." Harlock mused, then added, "It's good to know that such men still exist in the universe……Warrior souls who refuse to know surrender."

"Then you know who he is, then?" Lightningtooth asked, as he gazed at the ill warrior from his position next to Harlock. The space pirate only shook his head.

"I can only guess, at this point." Harlock stated, "But there can't be too many human swordsmen anymore who would wear a mantle as elaborate as the one he's wearing."

"True." Lightningtooth agreed, as they both took in the sick man's appearance; he was a tall, muscular fellow, with tanned skin and long ebony hair. His clothes, though tattered, were Japanese in make, hinting at where he had originally come from, before ending up here, and in this sorry state. His mantle though, appeared untouched; the white material seeming to glow in the light of the campfire, and it's red lining and collar having taken on the hue of drying blood in the flickering light.

"_Could those old legends Tochiro had told me been true? Could this man be the same one that has guarded Japan since ancient times?_" Harlock wondered, as he watched the great cat slumber behind his master; pillowing the ill man's head against his side in an effort to make it more comfortable for him; his twin tails draped across his master's lap, as well. Then, to both Harlock's and Lightningtooth's relief, the sound of a ship finally came to their ears……The _**Arcadia**_ had finally arrived.

"_And not a moment too soon._" Both thought, in obvious relief, as they watched the space pirate ship descend confidently through the atmosphere to land within feet of the forest itself.

"Captain! Do you read? Over! Please respond! Over!" Kei's voice pleaded, concernedly, over the comm-link.

"Reading you loud and clear, Kei. Alert Doc Zero and tell him to ready the sickbay. There's a warrior out here who needs medical attention." Harlock commanded, from his position near the fire.

"Right away!" Kei responded, before turning off her end of the comm-link. Within moments, some of the stronger members of the crew had emerged from the ship with a stretcher in tow. At their forefront were Doc Zero, Kei, and La Miime.

"Thank goodness you're both all right! But how did you two get here? Your fighter is still in the _**Arcadia**_'s docking bay!" Kei said, when she was close enough.

"Long story. All I can say, however, is that it is thanks to Lightningtooth's power that we were able to prevent a lingering death from one of those damned rings." Harlock stated, as he watched the sickbay personnel carefully lift the ill warrior onto the stretcher (with the worried cat watching them very closely, as they did so).

"That warrior…..His mantle is known to me…..My people had had legends regarding such a warrior……But this can't be the same one. It has been thousands of years since he left the stars, never to return." La Miime mused, as Doc Zero inserted an I.V. into the man's arm, and then urged the men carrying the stretcher to hurry back into the ship.

"He's either a descendent of that warrior, or an inheritor of his sword style. We won't know until he awakens." Harlock stated, quietly.

"If he awakens. This looks pretty bad, Captain." Doc Zero murmured, doubtfully, then rushed after the men carrying the stretcher.

"_We can only hope he does._" Lightningtooth mused, as he watched the twin-tailed cat follow them closely into the ship; eyes showing only intense worry, at this point, for his master.

………………………

Hours later, they listened as Doc Zero gave them the report of how the warrior was doing.

"He's got severe cases of blood poisoning in his neck and wrists, and an almost fatally high fever. There's also a bit of fluid in his lungs, a side-effect of the infections. All told, I'm surprised he's still with us." Doc Zero muttered, grimly, as he eyed the bed where the warrior now lay. His wounds were now treated and bandaged, but he looked no better than he had before.

"I want an hourly update on his condition throughout the night, Doc Zero." Harlock commanded, and then turned to Kei, "Conduct a search for any recent missing persons reports that match his description."

"On it!" Kei replied, promptly, before rushing back to her post.

"La Miime, if you can, do you think you can find out who exactly he is, and how he had been captured?" Harlock asked, as he gazed at the compassionate alien woman.

"I will do all I can." La Miime promised, as she took a seat at the sick man's side, and gently took one of his hands in hers'.

"Why all this effort for one stranger, Captain?" Doc Zero finally asked, when the dark-clad man started to walk out of the sickbay.

"Someone who has been guarding the earth for as long as he has, deserves the least we can do……And, in an indirect way, if it weren't for him, the _**Arcadia**_ would never have been built." Harlock murmured, as he remembered the tales Tochiro had told him; one story in particular returning to mind as he spoke.

"You mean at some point in the past, he'd saved Tochiro's life?" Doc Zero questioned, confusedly.

"Probably not the Tochiro we had known, but more than likely one of his ancestors." Harlock stated, as he walked out of the sickbay and down the hall; leaving Doc Zero standing there with even more questions than he had answers for.

"_Could this man __truly__ be that old?_" Doc Zero wondered, then sighed in exasperation and turned to observe the man's vital signs. It was going to be a long night.

…………………

_Through the corridors of the man's mind, La Miime wandered. All around her, she could sense the warrior's awareness of her presence; eying her with evident distrust from the shadows._

"_It is all right. I came at the behest of my captain to help you. I am La Miime. Who are you?" she asked, gently. She received no immediate response, yet could only blink when the shadows abruptly disappeared, and she found herself in a sunlit forest clearing. A simple cabin stood on one side of it, with a potter's kiln close beside it. She turned to look when some movement came to her sensitive ears, and a tall man came striding into the clearing from behind her. Immediately she could sense the pride and strength of spirit within him, reminded in many ways of the captain she had sworn on her life to protect. With some irritation on his part, he went into the cabin, retrieved something from inside, and then came back out. To La Miime's surprise, he now held a jug of sake and two cups in his strong hands. He then motioned to the log situated in front of the kiln with a nod of his head._

"_Even if it is only in the mind, sake is needed." The man muttered, with an irritated sigh; earning him some quiet laughter from La Miime in response to that._

"_I agree. Thank you." La Miime said, as the white-mantled warrior poured some of the drink into one of the cups, and handed it to her. Yet, he couldn't help but stare in amazement at her when she downed the contents of the cup in one gulp, and then held it out for some more._

"_I thought there was more to you than met the eye_……_Aside from the obvious." The man stated, as he then refilled her cup; this time out of respect for her ability to handle the drink. La Miime offered him only her version of a smile._

"_I am descended from a race who survives on alcohol alone." La Miime admitted, this time sipping the drink a little more leisurely in order to make it last._

"_Sounds like some youkai I had met a long time ago." The warrior said, then looked directly at her, "What do you wish to know?"_

"_What name do you go by? And how were you caught by those who had tortured you so badly?" La Miime asked. Her questions earned her a slight grimace from the warrior as a response._

"_I was, and still am, known as Seijuro Hiko the Thirteenth_….._the last heir of a kenkaku known as Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu. I have been alive since the Sengoku Era; a fact that the Machine Men weren't very willing to overlook. Originally, I was captured while trying to free a few others from a yarou known as Kichigai." The warrior growled; the memory of that event returning the 'wounds' to their places on his body. At this, La Miime's eyes narrowed; remembering only too well how close to death Young Harlock had been, after his run-in with the insane, mechanized doctor. With every ounce of her own willpower, she forced the residual anger out of her heart, and placed a soothing hand on Hiko's white-mantled shoulder._

"_You're free of that, now." La Miime reassured._

"_True. Yet I can only wonder where I am now_……_It doesn't feel as though I am on a planet, anymore_……_And I can feel the presence of what seems to be a disembodied spirit." Hiko said, his words amazing the alien woman to no end._

"_He's sharp. But I guess I should've expected that, from one of the strongest swordsmen to ever live on a pre-Mechanized Earth." Another male voice said, as it's diminutive owner appeared before them._

"_Tochiro!" La Miime said, in surprise and a little happiness; glad that she was going to have some help in keeping the warrior from slipping into death._

"_You resemble your ancestor a great deal_……_But I can only hope that you had become a better shot." Hiko muttered, as he gave Tochiro a deadpan look. Tochiro only smiled good-naturedly in answer to the jab._

"_Hell yeah. I wouldn't have survived very long, if I hadn't been. Nor would I have been able to have built the handgun that had saved your life a few hours ago, either." Tochiro stated; getting a nod from the mantled warrior in agreement._

"_Though I never would have guessed that a gun could save my life_….._I've had some bad run-ins with them before." Hiko muttered, as he poured some sake into the leftover cup, and handed it to Tochiro._

"_It all depends on who uses them. I only made but a few Cosmo Dragoons, and those guns have saved the lives of their masters and their loved ones about a hundred times over." Tochiro stated; grinning as he accepted the cup, and noticed Hiko's somewhat skeptical glance._

"_The guns have wills of their own?" Hiko asked, as he set the sake jug down on the grass beside the seat. Tochiro only inclined his head, and smiled._

"_You doubt it?" Tochiro in turn asked, rhetorically._

"_Not really_……_Though I am more familiar with that being said of swords. Very rarely have I heard of a gun taking on a will of its' own." Hiko murmured, thoughtfully, then gazed seriously at the pair before him, "What sort of man is this captain of yours', anyway?" At this, La Miime and Tochiro exchanged a glance, and nodded._

"_He's one of a dying breed, my friend. You'll rarely find a man of honor like him, in this day and age." Tochiro said, seriously._

"_I rarely see them in any age. Only once in a great while_….._do I see someone that has what it takes to be a true man_….._And then, sometimes, he's fed to the dogs before he can become what he is supposed to be." Hiko said; the sadness in his voice only giving the pair a glimpse of the despair that had been lingering deep within him for so long._

"_You're speakin' from experience_….._You've seen that sort of thing happen way too often, huh?" Tochiro questioned, with true sympathy for the ancient warrior before him. With a sigh, Hiko nodded._

"_The unexpected side-effect of being alive for so long_……_is seeing so many generations come and go_……_What goes through those fools' minds as they throw away their humanity and trade their souls for machines? What makes them think they would really __want__ such a fate?" Hiko mused aloud; almost repeating, word for word, what Young Harlock had asked of Kei, not so long ago._

"_Couldn't begin to tell ya, my friend. All I can say is that you'd found some way to survive without a mechanized body, and that was why the Machine Empire wanted you out of the way. They didn't want anybody to know that they could live just as long without them." Tochiro said; getting a slight, pained smirk from Hiko for that._

"_Not that __that__ was intentional. The only reasons that are worth mentioning to explain why I am still around was because my Baka Deshi had refused to kill me, and that I am too damn stubborn to die on my own." Hiko muttered, the statement getting a good-natured laugh from Tochiro as a response._

"_Then you and Harlock are more alike than you think! He'd said basically the same thing about being stubborn to me a short while before I got sick and passed away!" Tochiro laughed, remembering the conversation (and the rather foul mood his friend had been in, at that time), very clearly._

"_Is your apprentice still alive?" La Miime asked, gently. She got an arched eyebrow from the white-mantled swordsman in response._

"_If he isn't, then I would be rather disappointed in him." Hiko muttered, then sighed and stood._

"_What's up?" Tochiro asked, somehow knowing that something had attracted Hiko's attention._

"_I think someone has come to call you away from the conversation." Hiko stated, as he glanced at La Miime for a moment, and nodded back in the direction she had come._

"_Harlock may have found something_……_Maybe a lead on the whereabouts of your apprentice?" La Miime suggested, as she also stood and prepared to leave._

"_Perhaps. But I won't hold my breath. The connection between us has become rather tenuous, of late_……_I just hope he hasn't been caught by that yarou, or fallen prey to that space disease that had been running so rampant here, lately." Hiko quietly said, his worry for the other man's wellbeing just barely being allowed to come to the forefront._

"_Don't worry. If anything, he's probably just laying low; trying to avoid notice from the Machine Empire." Tochiro stated, grinning when a slight feeling of hope mixed with the despair they could both feel from the ancient warrior._

"_Feh. It was how he'd survived before, during the first eleven years of the Meiji_….._I just hope his common sense has improved." Hiko muttered, with a slight sigh of exasperation as he remembered so many other occasions when it had proven to be the exact opposite._

"_We'll soon see." La Miime stated, as she gently withdrew from the warrior's mind, and returned to her own._

…………………………

Harlock was waiting patiently on the other end of the room, when La Miime returned to herself.

"Well? What were you able to find out?" Harlock asked, quietly.

"He is the man from the legends Tochiro had told you. His name is Seijuro Hiko the Thirteenth." La Miime murmured, as she gazed softly at the wounded man, and then turned her golden gaze to him, "Were you able to find anything out, Captain?"

"Not much. Kei is still searching through the reports for anything matching his description……Though there have been signs that someone knows he's missing." Harlock stated, continuing when he saw the curious look in La Miime's golden eyes, "Apparently, shortly after I destroyed the satellite Kichigai had been using, someone else demolished the factory that had manufactured those rings…..And the description of one of those men seemed to stand out above the rest. A small man with bright red hair, and a faded cross-shaped scar on one cheek." Harlock said, noticing when the warrior's face twitched slightly; proving that he'd heard the description.

"Does anyone know the whereabouts of the man with the cross-shaped scar now, Captain?" La Miime asked, when she'd sensed the hope rising within the wounded man beside her.

"No. All that has been found of him were just a few sightings in the last decade. Nothing that would tell anyone where he is or where he's going….." Harlock muttered, yet allowing an eyebrow to rise when a slight, relieved smirk appeared on Hiko's pallid face.

"Sounds a bit like your own comings and goings, of late." Lightningtooth murmured, jokingly, ignoring the dry look Harlock gave him, moments afterwards.

"Hiko's relieved just to know that much, Captain. He had even told Tochiro and me that he was beginning to doubt whether his apprentice was still alive…..That their connection had become very weak." La Miime said, gently, as she brushed a delicate hand against the warrior's fevered brow.

"_I just wonder how much of that is because of what had happened to __him__? He may have a strong spirit, but there's still the infection to overcome_….._The worst of it being in his throat._" Harlock mused, as he grimly walked out of the sickbay. Would the warrior even be able to survive, after all he'd been through? Or would the infection claim him?

………………….

It was a long, slow process, to gather enough strength to awaken. His body felt weighted down, and he could feel the pain in his neck and wrists keenly.

"_Never would I have imagined that such pain could be possible_….._from just three pieces of over-glorified metal_….._It seems I now know what an attack from the Mugenjin would have felt like_….." Hiko mused, as he laboriously opened his eyes; finding himself staring at a sickbay's ceiling.

"Ah, so you've 'returned'. That's good." A voice said, from beside him. Painfully turning his head to the side, Hiko was a bit surprised to see the same black wolf as before sitting on the floor beside the bed he was now lying in.

"Where…..?" Hiko rasped, a wince forcing itself onto his features when the effort sent stabbing pain through his throat.

"The _**Arcadia**_'s sickbay. You've been in here for almost a week now…..Doc Zero has been doing all he can to help you fight the infections." The wolf responded, quietly. He smiled slightly when a confused expression appeared on the warrior's face.

"If…..I'm indeed….in a sickbay….then why….do I smell sake?" Hiko asked, braving the pain to voice his question.

"Doc Zero uses sake to treat wounds, on this ship." The wolf stated, inwardly chuckling when a scowl appeared on Hiko's pallid face at this.

"Such a waste…..It's of a high quality…..too good to use on wounds…." Hiko muttered, as he forced himself into a sitting position; wincing slightly with the effort shortly afterwards.

"Finally, a patient with good taste!" a voice chuckled, as its owner came into sight. At this, Hiko only smirked.

"There…..are some….who would argue that point." Hiko managed, bravely ignoring the searing pain that tore through his throat upon saying that.

"You'd be right about that." Doc Zero agreed, with a sigh, then asked, "Care for a drink, then?"

"After…..what I've been through….I could certainly use one." Hiko muttered, his tone hiding the eagerness he had for a well-earned drink. The wolf beside him only watched as Doc Zero grabbed one of the bottles of sake that sat nearby, poured some into some cups, and handed one to the wounded swordsman. Without hesitation, Hiko accepted the cup and downed it's contents; hissing slightly when the alcohol burned the inside of his injured throat on its way down.

"If I may be so bold to ask…..Who was it you were trying to rescue, when you got caught?" the wolf asked; deciding against even mentioning the evil doctor in passing.

"Old allies…..A few others…..who had lived through…...those long years…..with me. The mechanized men…..wanted to know why….we were still alive…..And what it would take….to kill us." Hiko growled; his eyes narrowing in pain and anger at the thought, and fingering the bandages wrapped around his neck as he said that.

"I see….They wanted to know why you and a select few have been able to live outside of time…." The wolf murmured, discomfited by this, for a number of very good reasons, "_It seems Captain Zero was right_……"

"_What do you mean?_" the great cat's voice asked, as it entered the sickbay and gave them all an unreadable look.

"_A short while ago, my master's son and a friend of his were captured and almost killed by Kichigai. When they came to after their rescue, Zero, one of the men who had been tortured, had said that the Machine Men could very well use the rings to make humans give up their bodies, in order for the pain to stop. My own son, who had heard this firsthand, had been so disturbed by it, that he'd told me of the conversation a few hours later._" Lightningtooth replied, somberly.

"_It all makes sense, now._" The cat mused, angrily; his eyes narrowing at the thought, and a slight snarl escaping from between his lips as well.

"Well, all I can suggest now is that you rest up for a while longer. When you feel up to it, you can go ahead and get up." Doc Zero said, getting a nod from Hiko as a response (even though the action alone must have hurt like hell).

Author's Note!

Yes, I know, this qualifies as an impossible crossover, but I just can't picture one of my favorite characters growing old and dying! Hope this was 'all right' otherwise!

Gemini14


	2. Part Two

Part Two

"_My father is angry._" A quiet voice murmured, in the back of a wanderer's mind. Startled by the break in the 'silence', the wanderer turned and looked down at the twin-tailed cat beside him.

"What is he angry about, Kuromaru-kun?" the wanderer asked, as he rubbed the cat's ears gently with his calloused fingers. The cat shook his head.

"_No idea. It just has something to do with his partner being hurt, but I can't tell what. He's too far away for me to ask him, directly._" The cat replied, with a troubled sigh.

"I see…..I hope Shishou is all right…..The connection has become so weak." The wanderer murmured, worriedly; immediately distracted by the sound of a ship landing in the distance.

"_Sounds like trouble, wouldn't you say?_" Kuromaru stated, rhetorically, when he'd also noticed the smoke billowing from the stern of the odd-looking vessel.

"Aa. Let's go and see if we can be of any help." The wanderer said, as he jumped onto the cat's back, and the feline took off after it; not knowing that this move alone would soon reunite them with the two they had been worrying about.

…………………………….

Emeraldas uttered a few colorful profanities, as she and her crew did what they could to evade capture.

"_I sure as hell do __not__ want to go through what Lady Emeraldas had gone through!_" Emeraldas seethed, as she remembered what Tochiro Jr. had told her about that time when his mother had been captured and tortured by Gokai, and nearly jumped out of her skin when another alarm went off nearby.

"Captain, it seems someone on-planet is approaching." Rowena stated, calmly.

"Put them on the monitor." Emeraldas commanded; getting an immediate compliance from her crew. Moments later, her gaze was met by the unusual sight of a small, almost petite man sitting astride a huge, twin-tailed cat. They were flying alongside the _**Queen Emeraldas**_, looking concernedly at the smoking engines as they did so.

"What should we do, Captain? Shoot them down?" Rowena asked; seeming equally as confused as the young woman beside her.

"No…..Open the hatch and let them come aboard." Emeraldas commanded, her curiosity getting the better of her, since she wanted to know who they were and why they had been in the vicinity.

"_And I want to know why that cat reminds me of the wolves, for some weird reason_….." Emeraldas mused, as she watched the port side hatch open from her vantagepoint on the bridge, and as the pair outside cautiously entered the ship.

……………………………….

The prison complex was finally silent, as one lone prisoner slowly returned to consciousness again. For hours on end, something had been bombarding the prison from above; the explosions just barely being heard by the prisoner's fever-fogged brain.

"_Maybe this is finally it_….._I can finally bid this rotten life a 'fond' farewell_….." the prisoner mused, sanguinely, as he slowly lifted his head; wincing when the metal ring around his neck dug into the raw, burned flesh under it. For several weeks, now, he'd been tortured with the ring, his neck and wrists badly burnt by the electricity that had flowed through them until just a short while ago.

"_Wonder if the yarou that had created this damn thing is a reincarnation of Shishio?_" the prisoner wondered, yet breathed a pained sigh. As though he could do anything about it, now, captured as he was.

"_Hope Hiko had managed to get away. He was pretty sick by the time Kagemaru had come to get him out_….._I hope he's still alive._" The prisoner again mused; sagging again in his chains at the thought of the proud swordmaster's suffering at the hands of Kichigai, before he'd finally managed to escape. He perked up slightly, when what sounded like voices came to his ears; since the prison itself was now empty save for him, and a few corpses, this was a strange development, to say the least.

"_But what poor bastards have been unfortunate enough to end up here?_" the prisoner wondered, hazily; dreading what was to come for the new 'inmates', and when they discovered for themselves how painful the rings were.

"_You're gonna regret getting caught, and will wish for a quicker death, by the time all is said and done_….." he silently warned, as he eyed the door of his cell, and wondered if he would be able to see the newcomers before death came to finally claim him.

…………………………………

The crew of the _**DeathShadow**_ could only watch, as their captain led the way through the seemingly empty prison; none of them daring to say a word, when they saw his narrowed eyes and sensed the cold fury that now resided within him at the horrors he was seeing.

"Damn…..most of these poor bastards were killed by electrocution, and a few look as though their wounds had done them in." Tochiro muttered, with a shudder of revulsion at the pitiable sight of the bodies that still hung from their chains within their cells, "You still think there could be anyone still alive in this hellhole?"

"Probably not…..but the least we can do is make sure, before we level it." Young Harlock replied, grimly, as he continued walking; gripping his Cosmo Dragoon tightly as he went. He certainly didn't want to repeat his mistakes and end up destroying any innocent lives! So wrapped up was he in his own thoughts, that Young Harlock almost didn't hear when a weak voice called out to him, from within one of the filthy cells on his right hand side.

"Hey…..get outta here…..while you still can…." The voice gasped, jolting the young pirate captain back to reality. In less than a heartbeat, he was looking into the cell and taking in the sight of the only survivor of the torture that had gone on throughout the prison; the man manacled to the wall looked to be about his own age, with shoulder-length, spiky brown hair and hazel eyes. Signs of his long imprisonment there were readily seen; his neck and wrists were badly burnt, and he appeared malnourished.

"_Damn! He's on his last legs!_" Young Harlock inwardly growled, as he shot the lock and forced his way into the cell.

"Harlock! What….?!" Tochiro yelped, from a bit further down the hall when he'd seen his friend rush into the cell.

"Tell sickbay to get ready, Tochiro, since there's at least one who's been lucky enough to survive this hell." Young Harlock replied, as he quickly shot the manacles off of the man's wrists, and caught him as he started to fall forward.

"Right!" Tochiro agreed, then started shouting into his comm-link a few seconds later.

"'_Harlock'_….._huh? Where've_….._I heard that name_….._before?_" the man wondered, as he blearily looked up at the _**DeathShadow**_'s captain, and then allowed himself to drift from consciousness; sagging limply on the younger man's shoulder when the final vestiges of strength abandoned him. He, therefore, didn't feel it when Harlock picked him up and hurriedly carried him out of the cell, nor hear it when the crew of the space pirate ship uttered yelps of shock at the sight of their captain carrying a dying man in his arms and when those same men snarled in rage at the sight of the metal ring around the prisoner's neck.

…………………………..

Emeraldas watched as the small man and his cat cautiously traversed the halls of her ship; almost curiously looking in each room as they went. When they had stopped in front of her quarters, she made herself known to them.

"You should wipe your feet before going into a lady's bedroom, you know." Emeraldas stated, as she approached them; startling the man into turning around so quickly that he lost his balance and fell flat on his back

"Oro!" the man yelped, as he fell; the exclamation almost making her laugh softly, and the deadpan expression that appeared on the cat's face shortly afterwards made the situation even more priceless.

"What brings you two here?" Emeraldas asked, as she helped the man get back to his feet again.

"_He just wanted to make sure you and this ship's crew were all right. You see, we've encountered your ship before_….._but she was under a different captain, then._" The cat stated, when he'd sensed that his companion was still a little too dizzy to respond.

"I see….So you've met Lady Emeraldas?" Emeraldas asked, sensing that she had very little to fear from the pair in front of her. The cat nodded.

"_Almost thirty years ago_….._When the earth was still at war with the green-faced men. She was a 'free trader' then, and not a pirate._" The cat responded, coolly, then added, "_I am Kuromaru, and this is my partner, Kenshin._"

"Pleasure to meet you both. I am Emeraldas, the current captain of the _**Queen Emeraldas**_." Emeraldas said, introducing herself to the pair, and smiling when the red-haired man bowed politely.

"Good to meet you as well, Emeraldas-dono." Kenshin answered, his own smile warm and friendly…..even though, to her eyes, it also seemed tinged with some worry and weariness, as well. Yet she noticed right away when the robot beside her jerked to attention, and gave it a confused look when it spoke.

"Captain, we're receiving a message from the _**DeathShadow**_. Do you want it patched through?" the robot asked.

"Yes. Go ahead." Emeraldas replied, as she began running back towards the bridge again; not in the least bit surprised when Kenshin and Kuromaru followed her. They got there just as the image of the _**DeathShadow**_'s captain appeared on the screen.

"We're picking up a distress signal from you, Emeraldas. You all right over there?" Young Harlock asked, concernedly.

"I'm fine, but the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ has picked up some minor damage to her engines." Emeraldas replied, then noticed that there seemed to be blood on her friend's flightsuit, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, though I'm not going to say the same for the prison we'd just demolished over here. There was only one survivor in the whole place….the rest of the prisoners there had been electrocuted with those damn rings." Young Harlock growled, angrily.

"Damn…..How is that one survivor doing?" Emeraldas asked, when she'd noticed that Kenshin had paled dramatically at the news, and was bracing himself on Kuromaru's shoulder.

"Not good. He's got some bad infections in his neck and wrists…..I may have to transfer him to Zero's ship, since I'm not sure we can handle this." Young Harlock gravely replied, then added, "I'll send Tochiro your way, so he can get your engines back online. Meet me at the Pirate Islands once that has been done."

"Okay. See you then." Emeraldas agreed, before the connection was cut, and she looked over at Kenshin again. Almost immediately, she felt a wave of pity fall over her, when she saw how the man was taking the bad news; he now looked extremely weak and frail, and 'worried' did not begin to describe the look that had taken up residence in his amethyst eyes.

"_There's nothing I can really say that would make this any easier for him, at this point. He must have known one of the prisoners in that prison_……" Emeraldas mused, then gently reached out and placed a soothing hand on Kenshin's shoulder.

"There's an extra room set up just down the hall. Go and get some rest, you look like you need it." Emeraldas said, kindly; her heart aching when she saw what could have been tears in his eyes, before he blinked them back and nodded.

"A-arigato, Emeraldas-dono." Kenshin whispered, before he wandered out of the bridge. For a few moments, Kuromaru lingered; giving her a feline version of a polite bow, before following his friend.

…………………….

It was quite some time before he regained consciousness, yet already he could tell that he was no longer in the prison. For one thing, he could hear what sounded like medical machines nearby…..And, for another, the ring was finally gone.

"_A sickbay_….._Then what happened earlier was real_…._I'm still alive_…." The former prisoner mused; wincing as every breath seared his throat, but making doubly sure that he didn't let anyone know he was feeling it.

"_I don't know what kind of people have picked me up_….._It could be those damned mechanized men, for all I know._" He inwardly growled; not anticipating what happened next.

"You're about half right, on that." A voice said, from beside the bed. Startled into opening his eyes, he painfully turned his head to look and see who had spoken, and was even further surprised to see that a black-furred, blue-eyed wolf now sat beside his bed.

"What…..do you….mean?" the ex-prisoner managed, grimacing with every word spoken.

"You're on a ship that is manned by a crew that is half mechanized. Have you ever heard of a vessel known as the _**Karyu**_?" the wolf asked, quietly. It took a few moments for the wounded man to reply, but, when he did, he nodded.

"Yeah…..Captain Zero's ship…..Served aboard her during the Mech War……Guess this means I'm back aboard her now….." the wounded man murmured, softly.

"Yes. This was the only ship my master knew of, that could possibly save you. Your wounds are still very serious." The wolf stated; seemingly surprised when the man shrugged slightly, and gave him a vague smirk.

"Been through….worse. One such occasion….was in a prison...by a yarou known as 'Gokai'….." the man stated; noticing when the wolf beside him froze, and gave him a disbelieving look, "What?"

"You were held prisoner by a man named 'Gokai'? How long ago was this?" the wolf asked, anxiously.

"Almost sixteen years ago…..Why?" the man in turn questioned, curiously; looking up when several men walked into the sickbay, and seeing that at least two of them he thought he recognized. At this, the wolf appeared to smile.

"You don't recognize this young pirate standing behind me, do you?" the wolf asked, even as some quizzical looks were directed at him. For a brief moment, the wounded man had a blank look on his face, then carefully scrutinized the younger man's face….His own eyes widening when realization set in.

"You're that kid…..that covered my back….on the day of that jailbreak! Well I'll be damned…..You survived to make your own way….What about that lady pirate? Did she survive her ordeal?" the man asked, concernedly. Young Harlock nodded.

"I'm still trying to figure out how you'd pulled off making those laser cannons blow up without explosives. Gotta admit that I'm still baffled by that one." Young Harlock admitted, and got a grin from the wounded man for that admittance.

"I'll explain…..later…..For now…..I'd better introduce myself….." the man said, then held out a hand in greeting, "Sagara Sanosuke…..Renegade for Hire…..at your service."

Author's Note!

Even though it is much shorter than the first part, here's Part Two! (Hope it was all right, and that it made sense!)

Gemini14


	3. Part Three

Part Three

It had taken much effort and energy to get up and stand on his own….moreso than he would have liked. And several times, already, he'd almost fallen over, due to the pain, the ever-present difficulty with breathing, and the fever that had been brought on by the two previous problems.

"_But I need to get out of here_….._Too closed in._" Hiko thought, as he determinedly made his way out of the sickbay. It had been to his relief that his clothing hadn't been too badly damaged by his escape from Kichigai, and had been washed and returned to him before he'd awakened again (giving him even more of an excuse to get rid of the clothes he'd been wearing up until that point). Yet, the sight that greeted him when he stepped into the hallway made him feel, for the lack of a better term, bewildered. All over the floor, the crew of the _**Arcadia**_ was lounging around. Some were sleeping, while others played games of cards, Go, etc. They never once even looked up, even when he started walking down the hall.

"You seem confused." A familiar, feminine voice observed; prompting Hiko into looking over his shoulder. Despite himself, he felt relief when he saw La Miime standing there with a somewhat concerned look in her golden eyes.

"Your captain…..runs a strange ship…." Hiko mumbled, as he motioned to the seemingly lazy crew. At this, he sensed some amusement from the alien woman beside him.

"It's just Captain Harlock's way. This ship, the _**Arcadia**_, is an ideal unto itself. It symbolizes freedom." La Miime said, gently; noticing when the ancient warrior allowed a sigh to escape, and his presence began to feel a little melancholy.

"That….may be true….to this ship's captain and crew…..But to someone….who has lived…..almost his entire existence….with soil beneath his feet and a sky above his head…..This feels like nothing more…..than another prison…." Hiko stated, as he turned a somber gaze to one of the windows along the hallway; his eyes met with the sight of an endless starfield, and an empty void beyond it. He ignored completely the glares he was getting for his comments, and even moreso the look of sympathy he was getting from La Miime.

"If you would allow me, there's something I think you need to see." La Miime said, as she gently took him by the hand and started leading him even further down the hallway. Not really seeing that he had any other choice, he followed the alien woman wordlessly; feeling even more confused and even a little annoyed when she led him to another nondescript door.

"What….is there to see?" Hiko asked, irritably, unable to stop the feeling that La Miime was leading him around by the nose. Without answering, La Miime silently opened the door….and almost immediately a scent that should not have been there came to Hiko's sensitive nose, and an unbelievable sight came to his wondering eyes.

"Wh-what in the seven hells….?!" Hiko muttered, his dark eyes widening when he saw what shouldn't have been there at all. As far as he could see, within what should have been a room within the space pirate ship, was a dense woodland! He turned when he heard La Miime chuckle at his stunned expression, and then begin to explain.

"This room was developed by Tochiro with Lightningtooth in mind. Since he is, at heart, still a wild creature, it would have been wrong to coop him up without a place where he could feel earth beneath his paws. The Doctor even helped to make it even better, when he installed the Dimensional Transcendentalism circuit. I think, now, there's even a waterfall in there, somewhere….but I haven't been far enough in to see…." La Miime said, thoughtfully, as she watched the proud swordmaster enter; feeling her heart clench within her when he painfully lifted his head and looked up at the branches above him.

"This feels…..too real to be an illusion…..Not even the finest….youkai illusionists….I had run into….long have conjured something like this…." Hiko trailed off, as he then glanced at her again and added, "I'm not going back….to sickbay…."

"And we're not going to force you to go." A man's voice stated, as it's tall owner appeared behind La Miime.

"Captain!" La Miime yelped; startled that she hadn't sensed him behind her until that moment. The space pirate then entered the room himself, and approached the swordsman; adding even more surprise to Hiko's expression when he saw that there was a bottle of sake tucked under one arm, and he now held three glasses in his free hand.

"Rather unusual….time and place….to pour someone a drink….Space Pirate." Hiko muttered, yet accepted the cup offered to him, regardless.

"True….but even a Space Pirate knows that respect must be shown to a veteran who has survived so many battles." Harlock replied, as he handed the other extra glass to La Miime, uncorked the bottle, and started pouring the drink into the glasses.

"Honor….among fellow warriors, eh? Haven't…..heard of that….in a long time." Hiko managed, ignoring the burning in his throat as he said that. Harlock merely nodded; a thoughtful expression appearing on his scarred features, as he set the bottle down on a tree stump, and raised his glass.

"Gohram." Harlock murmured, and took a sip from his glass.

"_Gohram._" Hiko silently echoed; remembering what he had heard about the death of the Tokargan race, and Harlock's desperate attempt to save it.

"_Very rarely do I come across true warrior souls_…._With every generation that passes, it seems even fewer of them are born to replace the ones that die._" Hiko mused, grimly, and a bit sadly. After so many centuries of life, was it foolish of him to hold on to any hope for humanity? He'd almost convinced himself that there wasn't any, when he'd been held in painful captivity by the mad doctor…..and yet, he could sense a true warrior's spirit within the pirate before him.

"_Maybe there's some hope after all_….." Hiko thought, with a sigh, as he sat down under one of the larger trees; leaning tiredly back against it from the effort of standing for so long. He looked up again when a hand gripped his shoulder, and saw that Harlock was kneeling before him.

"Rest easy, my friend. I'll find a place where you can recover from this." Harlock promised; getting a smirk from the swordmaster in response.

"See to it….that you keep your word….Space Pirate." Hiko replied, wearily, as he settled himself in for the duration; no sooner doing that then falling asleep once again.

"La Miime, make certain Doc Zero knows that, barring an emergency situation, Hiko will not be forcibly moved from this room." Harlock said, getting a nod from the blue-haired woman in response.

"I will let him know. Should I summon that cat here, as well?" La Miime questioned, as she gazed softly at the now-slumbering warrior.

"Leave that to Lightningtooth. If anything, he's seems to be on better terms with him than I am, at this point." Harlock stated, quietly, as he walked out of the room; leaving the bottle of sake there so Hiko could finish it at his own pace.

………………………..

Hours later, Lightningtooth found himself patrolling the ship with the curious great cat by his side.

"_This ship is very strange. Is there truly no rank on board?_" the cat asked, mentally; his question earning him a chuckle from the wolf as a response.

"Not officially, no. When there's no enemies around, the crew is free to do what they please….and it is their choice what orders they want to follow." Lightningtooth responded, amiably.

"_I see_….._Strange indeed._" The cat murmured, as they then walked down the hallway that led past the Captain's quarters. Almost immediately, even before they had even gotten close to the door of Harlock's room, they could both sense how deeply troubled the man was.

"_Your partner seems worried. Who is he so concerned about?_" the cat questioned, as he glanced at Lightningtooth and gave him a confused look.

"Your master. He must be trying to figure out where would be a safe enough haven to take him so he can recover, but is having no luck, so far….." Lightningtooth mused, aloud, as he then opened the door and entered the room. Not surprisingly, Harlock didn't even acknowledge them as they entered, so focused was he in glaring at the computer terminal before him.

"Did it freeze up on you again, old friend?" Lightningtooth quipped, startling the space pirate into looking up from what he was doing. Then Harlock's expression sobered even further.

"No….I'm just now realizing just how far the mechanized men have advanced. All of the planets that had been good hiding places sixteen years ago have been taken over." Harlock growled, then added, "I now have a good idea why Young Harlock hates them to the extent that he does."

"Seeing what Hiko's state had been when we had found him, old friend, I agree." Lightningtooth stated, quietly.

"_Where is my partner now? From what I could tell, he isn't in the sickbay, anymore._" The cat said, earning him a surprised look from Harlock for that.

"I didn't realize you could speak, as well. What do you call yourself?" Harlock asked.

"_Kagemaru is my name, Captain. And I must apologize for my earlier actions towards you._" The cat murmured, a little shamefacedly. He was therefore surprised, when the pirate captain gave him and Lightningtooth a rueful look.

"I would have done the same, in your position…..At any rate, do either of you have any ideas? As it is, I don't think Hiko will get any better if he remains on board." Harlock said, now looking to them for some advice.

"I might be able to convince the Great Leader on my homeworld to take him in for the duration." Lightningtooth offered, after a few moments of thoughtful silence.

"_Then you would be in better shape than I currently am, on that point, since I haven't even visited my homeworld since I left it centuries ago! It also doesn't help matters much that I have forgotten how to fold time and space in order to make a 'gate' to get there._" Kagemaru admitted, a bit shamefacedly.

"Then the best we can hope for, at this point, is that you can convince the Great Leader to allow a human to stay on Luviji long enough to heal." Harlock murmured, as he gave his lupine friend a grave look.

"I will do everything in my power to do just that, my friends. Be back as soon as I can!" Lightningtooth said, before leaping into a gate he had just opened, and disappearing from sight moments afterwards.

"_I hope he is able to convince him._" Kagemaru said, grimly; looking up when Harlock cautiously scratched the backs of his ears in reassurance.

"No arguments there." Harlock agreed, his thoughts returning to what could have happened to him, had it taken any longer for Tochiro and his crew to get there to rescue him.

…………………..

Lightningtooth arrived on his homeworld in a rush; leaves and twigs scattering underfoot as he leaped from the gate, and made all speed to the Leader's Island. The Nightland was as peaceful as always, yet even it seemed to react to the obvious unease in the dark-furred wolf's soul, as he ran hell-for-leather through the forest.

"_Even though he will more than likely agree to it, I will feel better once I have heard those words from the Great Leader himself!_" Lightningtooth thought, as he raced past the surprised guards, and into the castle keep, itself.

"You're always in such a hurry, these days, Leader of the Moonstring Pack. What seems to be the trouble?" a regal voice asked, almost casually, when the black wolf had skidded to a halt and hastily bowed to him.

"A matter…..of some importance….Great Leader." Lightningtooth panted, in response; visibly grateful when the higher-ranking wolf nodded for him to have a seat.

"An important matter? Would it have something to do with The Heaven's Dragon heir?" the Great Leader questioned, rhetorically. Lightningtooth nodded.

"Yes. My chosen master and I found him, badly wounded and very ill, in a forest on one of the terra-formed moons near the outer rim. An electrocution ring had been placed around his neck." Lightningtooth said, when he'd managed to catch his breath and explain in detail what had gone on. At this, the Great Leader growled softly, and his eyes narrowed.

"I see. What you wish to know, is if I will allow him to recover here. Is that it?" The Great Leader again asked.

"Yes." Lightningtooth replied, simply. At this, the other wolf gave him a mysterious smile.

"I have been gazing at the man's past, and a little bit of his future, for a short while now. He has seen a great many battles, a few of them almost fatal….Yet, in each one, he has had someone or something he had desired to protect. For a soul as scarred, yet as stubborn to continue living, as his, I will gladly let him rest here." The Great Leader murmured, smiling again when Lightningtooth's expression brightened.

"Thank you, Great Leader! I will let Harlock know of this, at once!" Lightningtooth said, happily, as he opened the gate leading to the _**Arcadia**_ and prepared to leap through it.

"Tell the swordsman first, though. Let him know what has been discussed, since this is about his welfare, after all." The Great Leader gently commanded. With another nod and a bow, Lightningtooth then jumped into the waiting gate. Little did he realize just what sorts of events would soon be set in motion by that decision alone…..

………………………….

It was with momentary confusion that Hiko awoke sometime later; finding himself forgetting for the briefest of moments that he was on board one of the most feared pirate vessels in the known universe.

"_For a moment, I could have sworn I was on earth again_….." Hiko mused, almost sadly, as he forced himself onto his feet, and started walking; intent on exploring the 'forest', for the lack of something better to do. Even though the fever and pain dulled his senses to an extent, he still managed to at least 'feel' the immediate area around him…..Ancient habits and skills lending their aid to him, now. After a while, he allowed himself a slight smile; he could hear water.

"_The waterfall must be just up ahead._" Hiko mused, as he followed his ears to what should have been an impossibility inside of a spaceship. Yet, it was the appearance of the waterfall itself that took him aback. It looked exactly like the one that had been his favorite training ground, the way it had looked a long time ago!

"_Before the earth's oceans and rivers dried up_……_and humanity, for the most part, lost it's collective mind, altogether._" Hiko inwardly muttered, grimacing and sighing in disgust before jumping up onto the rocks near the waterfall's base, and sitting down again. For a long while, he sat there; allowing the fine mist to land on his upturned face, as well as the exposed skin on his arms and chest…..the larger droplets helping to disguise what could have been tears sliding down his cheeks. For centuries, he had been the human Guardian of the Western Province, even after he had left his lands in the hands of his children, and children's children…..And, for just as long, he had watched over the people of his homeland…..Watched them as they made foolish mistakes and wise decisions, alliances and enemies…...And had made his own stand during both Illumidas and Machine Man occupations.

"_For what good it did me, in the end._" Hiko mused, bitterly, "_I'd ended up getting captured, instead, this time around._"

"_You shouldn't think like that._" Tochiro Sr.'s voice said, quietly, in the back of Hiko's mind. This earned him a derisive snort and a sneer as an answer.

"_It is the truth of the matter, I'm afraid. As it is, I am an outdated warrior. A thing of the past_….._A mere 'legend' in some people's eyes_……_And yet, in spite of that_….." Hiko inwardly muttered, then sighed; shaking his head at the walking contradiction that he had become.

"_You can't just lay down and die, either._" Tochiro Sr. said, finishing the Hiten Master's thought for him.

"_No, I can't. Stubbornness, it seems, is its own curse, sometimes._" Hiko added, a bit sourly, and got an amused chuckle from Tochiro Sr. for his troubles. All other thought was forgotten, for a moment, when something came to Hiko's senses, and he perked up and looked warily around him. He was startled, therefore, when a familiar black wolf appeared on his left hand side…..with a vaguely sheepish expression on his lupine features as he approached.

"If I didn't know any better…wolf….I would say….that you have been hanging around…..my Baka Deshi." Hiko said, dryly; getting a rather confused expression from the wolf, for his efforts.

"Why do you say that?" Lightningtooth asked, confusedly.

"He would often….wear that same expression." Hiko muttered, in response.

"Oh….." Lightningtooth said, then inclined his head and gave him a questioning look, "How are you faring?"

"I've felt…..better." Hiko muttered, with a slight wince, as his neck wound protested against any movement on his part. As Lightningtooth watched, he could see and feel the grief the ancient warrior had for his homeland, as well as the spiritual wounds the man had from being torn from it, and being incarcerated and tortured as he had been.

"_He will indeed need time to heal, in both senses, before he is ready to fight again. As it is, he could still die_….._His sense of freedom is different from most men's_….._and is more akin to a wolf's._" Lightningtooth mused, as he remembered what he had been told of Hiko's reaction to the Green Room, and his adamant refusal to leave it after seeing it.

"I take it…..that you have some news….to impart?" Hiko asked; having sensed that the black wolf had something on his mind.

"Not news, per se…..But I have found a safe haven where you can recover from your wounds." Lightningtooth replied, then added, when he'd seen Hiko's somewhat dubious expression at this, "Don't worry. It isn't another ship."

"Then where is it, then? Since the mechanized men...have captured most of the known planets….I can't very well….be dropped off on any of them." Hiko said, then silently added, "_Especially not in the state __I'm__ currently in!_"

"My homeworld isn't one of those. In fact, it has been hidden from view since before the Illumidas War." Lightningtooth stated, a slight smile appearing on his lupine features when the warrior gave him a perplexed look.

"How do you….hide a planet?" Hiko asked, his confusion great enough to show itself in his eyes.

"That is a tale in and of itself! But I can say this; it is well protected from outside threat, namely the Mechanized Men." Lightningtooth assured him; smiling slightly when a hint of skepticism appeared in those dark eyes, as well.

"I'll believe it…..when I see it." Hiko muttered, with skepticism laced heavily in his voice, as he then forced himself to his feet again; wavering slightly when he had done so.

"Steady….Don't push yourself." Lightningtooth quietly said, as he allowed the wounded warrior to brace himself on his shoulder when a wave of dizziness threatened to topple him.

"Damn….When I get my hands….on the yarou that had done this to me…..He'll regret even conceiving the idea…..for those damned rings!" Hiko snarled, from between harsh gasps.

"I hate to say this, but my son has already seen to Kichigai's death….." Lightningtooth said, hesitantly; inwardly grinning when the swordmaster gave him an unreadable look, and could easily sense his disbelief.

"Then your son…..deserves to be commended, then." Hiko muttered, as he slowly got his balance again, and stood on his own.

"Indeed." Lightningtooth agreed, then worriedly thought, "_We must see about getting him moved to Luviji soon_….._His fever is starting to really worry me._"

"_I'm goin' as fast as I can, Lightning. If I push the engines any more, they're going to overheat._" Tochiro's voice grumbled, yet his gruff tone also had a hint of worry in it, as well. As Lightningtooth watched Hiko slowly make his way back to the door of the Green Room, he could only wonder just how much longer his waning strength would last, since his fever was beginning to worsen…..

……………………….

Harlock had been only marginally surprised, when he received a message from his son….yet that feeling was only doubled, when he learned where it had come from!

"_Why would he be aboard the __**Karyu**__? Has something happened?_" Harlock wondered, as he patched the message through.

"Hey Dad. Are you picking up this signal all right?" Young Harlock asked.

"Just barely. What's going on?" Harlock in turn questioned, as he tried to put his concerns for his son's wellbeing aside, for the time being.

"Long story. Are you heading to DeathShadow Island any time soon?" Young Harlock again asked, with a hint of worry in his voice that made Harlock's blood run a little colder than before.

"No." Harlock replied, then added, "We're heading to Lightningtooth's homeworld. Has something happened over there?"

"Yeah. While Young Harlock, his crew, and I were in one of Kichigai's prisons, we found one lucky one who had somehow survived long-term use of an electrocution ring….but he's very ill from the infections." Fang said, finally speaking up on that end of the transmission.

"I see….." Harlock murmured, his voice dropping into a growl, when he thought of someone else ending up in the same condition as Hiko.

"Should we meet you at the wolf planet, then?" Zero then asked, when he'd noticed Harlock's reaction to this bit of news.

"Yes. I'll have Kei send you the coordinates. Do you have enough provisions to get there?" Harlock questioned.

"We should." Zero replied.

"Then do so. From what Lightning has told me, the barrier will be let down only for a few hours." Harlock warned.

"The military is never late, Captain." Zero stated, proudly.

"Which clock are you looking at?" Harlock muttered; reminding Zero that he was also former military, and that he knew not to believe that particular comment.

"Don't worry, Dad. We'll be on time." Young Harlock reassured him; yet Harlock couldn't help but snicker when he heard Fang mumble under his breath something along the lines of 'Yeah, especially if you piss him off enough to chase you. He'll be on time no matter what, then'. Yet he couldn't help but hope that that would be the case.

"_From the sounds of things, the both of them could use any and all help they can get, from Lightningtooth's people_….._The question I have now, however, is can they overcome what the Mechanized People had done to them?_" Harlock mused, as he sat back down in his chair, and then called the bridge to tell Kei of what had been said, during that brief conversation, and that she had to tell the captains of both the _**DeathShadow**_ and the _**Karyu**_ where the wolf planet was……hoping that they would get there in time to improve the odds of helping both men to survive from their ordeals.

Author's Note!

Again, another rather short chapter, but it's all starting to come together! Hope it was all right!

Gemini14


	4. Part Four

Part Four

The rest of Sanosuke's time in the _**Karyu**_'s sickbay was a blur, since his body was too busy fighting the infections to really allow him much of a chance to speak to the proud pirates those two young boys had become.

"_But I'd always wondered what had become of 'em_….._If they'd been able to follow in their fathers' footsteps_….._Good to know that they were able to._" Sanosuke thought, hazily, as bitter memories returned from his own distant past…..and how his own childhood ambitions and hopes had been derailed before they could really have had the chance to take flight.

"He isn't doing well at all. We're barely even able to manage the fever and pain, despite this sickbay being better equipped than the _**DeathShadow**_'s…..How much longer till we reach Luviji, anyway?" Zero asked, as he looked in on the struggling man on the bed; wincing every time he drew in a painful breath.

"Another twelve hours, at most." Young Harlock muttered, from his end of a comm-link, since he'd returned to the _**DeathShadow**_ sometime before.

"Then let's hope this man can hold on, till then." Zero murmured.

"No arguments there." Young Harlock agreed, before his end of the conversation went quiet.

………………………..

Kenshin was awakened quite suddenly, by some loud banging and cursing just outside of his cabin's door.

"_Sounds as though someone is having a rough time of it, ne?_" Kuromaru telepathically muttered, as he glanced at Kenshin from where he lay.

"_Aa. And Kaoru-dono would have had my hide, if I had said anything like __that_" Kenshin replied, as he got up and made his way to the door. He wasn't in the least bit surprised to find a pile of what appeared to be spare parts piled on top of a small, brown-cloaked man.

"Daijobu desu ka?" Kenshin asked, as he started to dig the smaller man out from under the pile.

"Hai." The brown-cloaked man grumbled, irritably, then added, "This just hasn't been my day."

"I understand only too well what you mean." Kenshin muttered, with a slight laugh, as he got a good grip on the small man's arms and pulled. Once free, the smaller man then gave him an almost embarrassed grin.

"Thanks for the help. The name's Oyama Tochiro." The small man stated, with some pride in his voice.

"Himura Kenshin." Kenshin responded, politely.

" 'Himura', huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to that legendary hitokiri from the Bakumatsu, would you?" Tochiro asked, conversationally, as he started walking along towards the galley of the _**Queen Emeraldas**_. Kenshin did his best to hide a wince; would he never get away from his former reputation?

"Distantly." Kenshin replied; not really lying, yet not really telling the truth, either.

"Wow…..Did you inherit that sword from him, as well?" Tochiro asked, curiously, as he eyed the sheathed blade at Kenshin's hip with awe in his eyes.

"You could say that…..It is the sakabatou he had carried." Kenshin said, then silently added, "_And has __been__ carrying since that battle against Shishio_….."

"Sakabatou Shinuchi, right?" Tochiro asked, his eyes lighting up when he realized that he was making a direct connection with history…..but he didn't realize yet just how direct it really was. Kenshin nodded.

"You know your history well, Oyama-kun." Kenshin stated; his tone becoming distant, as his own questions came to the forefront of his mind: how much did Tochiro know? Tochiro laughed and grinned broadly.

"My dad had been a historian as well, in his spare time…..when he wasn't doing repair work on the _**Arcadia**_. He'd even been lucky enough to find some old photos of your ancestor, at some point." Tochiro said, not even noticing when some sadness entered Kenshin; he could remember quite well when the photos had been taken.

"_Kaoru-dono had always wanted to get her picture taken, and, when the opportunity arrived, we could hardly enjoy it, since Kenji and Sei had been in the habit of wandering off, even then_….." Kenshin mused, wistfully, then added, "_They were becoming rurouni, just like me._"

"_You shouldn't blame yourself, old friend. Kenji was a headstrong youth, and had inherited that infamous stubbornness from both of his parents. And you know your youngest son was also very strong-willed, when he wanted to be._" Kuromaru silently stated, trying his best to ward off the grief that usually came with Kenshin's memories of his family. Kenshin allowed himself a wan smile, at that.

"_Aa, that he could. But what can you expect from a youth who shares a name with Shishou? After all, Kaoru-dono had been the only one who could ever truly surprise him that way._" Kenshin agreed, then added, "_Himura Seijuro could also be quite the handful, sometimes._"

"Kenshin? You all right?" Tochiro asked, when he finally noticed how quiet Kenshin had gotten, and how sad he now looked. Startled from his musings, Kenshin looked down at the smaller man again.

"Oro? Oh……I'm fine, Oyama-kun. Just remembering my wife and sons, is all." Kenshin replied, a bit sadly.

"Did you lose them to the Mech-heads?" Tochiro again asked, somberly. Kenshin shook his head.

"No. My wife died from an illness after our sons disappeared…..It was quite sudden." Kenshin replied, his eyes narrowing when he remembered when all of that had happened so long ago.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So, what were you doing before you ended up here?" Tochiro asked, in an effort to get away from the depressing subject.

"_Wandering, mainly. We stumbled upon this ship when we noticed that there seemed to be some sort of trouble. We hadn't known it had changed hands until after we came aboard._" Kuromaru stated, as he made his presence known to Tochiro. At first, Tochiro seemed startled that the great cat had even been there with them, much less been able to speak; then he calmed, and gave the cat a curious look.

"You know the previous owner of this ship? My mother?" Tochiro asked, wonderingly.

"Yes. Our paths had crossed quite some time ago. In fact, it was before she'd even found this vessel and become a free trader…..during her brief time on board the Three-Nine." Kenshin said, with a slight smile; remembering only too well the fiery, protective glint one girl in particular had had in her eyes, in regards to her gentle sister, the only family she'd had left, then. It gladdened his heart to hear that she had been able to find someone to fill the chasm caused by her mother's transgression.

"I didn't know Mom had traveled on the Three-Nine as well…..Guess it just goes to show how much I know, ne?" Tochiro asked, good-naturedly. Kenshin smiled and nodded.

"Indeed." Kenshin agreed, as they finally arrived in the galley, where Emeraldas was now sitting. Yet, to their surprise, another person was sitting across from the young woman and was talking quietly with her. At their sides, two wolves rested, as well.

"Hey, Mom! We were just talkin' about you!" Tochiro greeted, as he jogged over to the black-cloaked woman with Emeraldas. At this, the woman turned and gave him a wry glance; bright green eyes glinting mischievously as she did so.

"Really? That can't be good." The older woman muttered, then looked at Kenshin; her eyes widening slightly when she recognized him.

"You look well, Emeraldas-dono." Kenshin said, gently, smiling warmly as he did so.

"As do you….." Lady Emeraldas murmured, as Angel curiously, and maybe even a little suspiciously, approached and breathed in Kenshin's scent.

"You don't smell like a Machine Man…..but how is it that you could be so unchanged, even after all this time?" Angel asked, bewildered by what her nose was telling her.At this, Kenshin's smile changed into an ironic one.

"You'd have to ask Shishou about that, since even I don't know." Kenshin replied, not realizing that he'd just let slip a vital clue on how old he truly was to the young man beside him.

" 'Shishou'? Why would you call anybody by that old title?" Tochiro asked, intelligently. As the five pairs of eyes became fixed on the ancient rurouni, Kuromaru summed up their current situation with just one word.

"_Busted._"

………………………………..

Drake watched, as his master sat down beside the bed Sanosuke was lying on. They were now about six hours away from Luviji; farther than Zero and Young Harlock would have liked, considering how ill Sanosuke now was.

"He had fought so hard during the Machine War…..I never would have thought he would return here in such a sorry state." Zero murmured, as he gazed grimly at his former crewman's still face. Sanosuke was now firmly unconscious, and was on oxygen to help him breathe.

"You can't blame yourself for this. He is a human being, after all; he's been following his own path since before he came to be here on this ship." Drake said, in an effort to ease the burden of guilt from around his friend's heart.

"True……But it seems odd…..He seems to have been fighting for far longer than even he is willing to admit. What has he seen? What kinds of battles has this man witnessed?" Zero mused, now beginning to understand much of the reason why Sanosuke had acted as he had during the war; the almost fatherly way he had struggled to protect his fellow crewmembers and captain against the mechanized threat.

"_War is a terrible thing, but it's even worse when it comes outta nowhere and takes so many innocent lives. Your wife and daughter were a horrible price to pay for humanity to get off of its' ass and fight back_….._And yet it's guys like you who lose the most, in the end. Some lose all hope and end their own lives_….._but a rare few_…._get back up and continue to live, despite the pain._" Sanosuke's voice echoed, within Zero's mind, as he remembered the other man's words, after the war had been lost.

"You were speaking from experience, weren't you, my friend?" Zero somberly asked, as he gazed at the other man's strangely still features. He received no response, but could almost sense that Sanosuke agreed with him.

………………………

Falko allowed himself a slight flinch, as the last of the stitches in his shoulder were finally cut away. At long last, he was finally on the mend from his encounters with vengeful aristocrats and bounty hunters, and was finally ready to fight again.

"Thank you for your help so far, Marian. It's been appreciated." Doctor Zero said, as he watched the captain of the _**Atlantis**_ settle back with a sigh of relief. The red-haired woman in front of them merely smiled, and shrugged.

"Think nothing of it. Besides, I couldn't just leave you all hanging, could I?" Marian asked, good-naturedly; watching as Fritz ran in with Silvereye right behind him, his grey-brown eyes glinting happily upon seeing his father finally well again.

"Your help has been appreciated….though Harlock had seemed a bit dismayed when you chose to come aboard." Falko murmured; even as a hint of a mischievous gleam could be seen in his eyes. At this, Marian smiled and shook her head.

"I think I'll be going back to his ship soon enough…..Though it'll seem strange, for a while. Even though it seems like it's been only a few hours for me, it has been an entire decade for him. I just hope Young Harlock doesn't resent me." Marian admitted.

"I don't think you'll have too much to worry about, from him, considering how relieved he'd been, just seeing his father finally find some happiness." Zero said, comfortingly. At this, Marian could only manage a blush, and an almost abashed look for an answer.

"I hope you're right about that……" Marian murmured, then looked down and smiled at Fritz (who had been patiently waiting for a chance to speak to his father).

"Feelin' better now, Dad?" Fritz asked, as he peered up at Falko.

"Better than I have in a while." Falko replied, then glanced at Marian again, with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, "Received a message from Harlock just a few hours ago…..From the sounds of things, it seems there's been some trouble."

"What kind of trouble? Did he say?" Marian asked, with a note of dread in her voice, as Mind and Aura entered the sickbay as well.

"Nothing that has been dangerous to him, per se, but the electrocution rings seem to be making a nasty comeback." Mind stated, worriedly. They could all see it when Marian's eyes narrowed, and knew she was remembering how bad the burns on Falko's neck had been, as well as those on Fritz's.

"Who did he find that is in need of help?" Marian asked, concernedly, even though a hint of anger could be heard in her voice, as well.

"A warrior." Mind replied, then added, when he got a bewildered look from the nurse, "Apparently, he is a descendant of a legendary warrior who was said to have gone to earth and disappeared…..taking the Heaven's Dragon sword school with him."

"And now he's a victim of the electrocution rings, as well….." Marian sighed, shaking her head to ward off her feelings of fury at the men who had dared to even invent such devices in the first place.

"Should we go ahead and head back, Marian?" Aura asked, softly and a little uncertainly. Marian nodded.

"I'll have Kai let Harlock know that you're on your way back, that way he won't worry." Falko said, as he stiffly stood, and started to pull the top part of his flight suit back up.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Marian said, gratefully, as she gathered her own supplies, and prepared to leave with Aura. She paused when Fritz grabbed her hand, and when he and Silvereye grinned up at her.

"You're gonna come back and visit sometime, right?" Fritz asked; getting a warm smile from Marian in response.

"Under better circumstances, I certainly will." Marian promised.

"We'll look forward to it." Falko said, honestly, as woman and wolf disappeared into a gate; heading for the _**Arcadia**_ as fast as they could go.

………………………..

Breathing was becoming more difficult, as time wore on. Every breath felt as though he were breathing in shards of glass, and it was a struggle to keep from uttering a pained groan every time he inhaled or exhaled.

"_No good_….._Can't stay conscious_….._for much longer_….." Hiko thought, hopelessly, as he lay there in the soft grass; blood leaking from the corners of his mouth, with every strained breath. He could just barely sense that Lightningtooth was nearby, and when the wolf saw him lying there, struggling to breathe.

"_Don't lose hope! You've got to hang on!_" Lightningtooth's mental voice urged; uttering an urgent howl for all he was worth, while he was at it.

"_Wish_….._I could have found out_……_if the Baka Deshi is truly still alive_……" Hiko thought, as his vision started to blur, and then fade altogether……with silent darkness swiftly taking over from there.

………………………….

Lady Emeraldas could tell that something dire was going on, when Kenshin's face abruptly went pale, and he started to pitch forward.

"Himura-san! What's wrong?! What is it?!" Tochiro asked, alarmed by the sudden seeming decline in the ancient rurouni's health, and as he helped to steady him.

"Shishou……his presence…..it's beginning to fade completely…..I must find him!" Kenshin stated, as he struggled to get himself upright, and rush back towards the hatch so he and Kuromaru could leave.

"Wait……Oh no……" Angel murmured, her blue eyes filling with worry as an urgent message came to her through space and time.

"_What is it? Who is sending to you?_" Kuromaru asked, anxiously, when he'd sensed the urgency in the message itself, even though the message was meant for Angel alone.

"My mate, Lightningtooth…..Harlock's guardian…..He's trying to find out if anyone has seen Himura-san……because his teacher, Hiko Seijuro…..is dying." Angel whispered, the full horror of the situation dawning on her, just as it was beginning to dawn on the humans around her.

"Rowena! Patch us through to the _**Arcadia**_! Find out where they are, and then put as much power into our warp engines as you can! Time is of the essence!" Young Emeraldas shouted, as she then started running to the bridge; knowing without even being told that any further time wasted in questioning the rurouni would probably result in them being too late to get to his master's side…..and it was something she could not let happen.

"_Please! Let us get there in time!_" Lady Emeraldas thought, as she followed the younger woman onto the bridge itself, and as Kenshin, Tochiro, Maya, Angel, and Kuromaru came in right after them.

…………………………

Meanwhile, on Luviji, a lone wolf slowly lifted his weary head and gazed at the starlit sky above him. For many, many long years, he had been standing vigil over his master's grave…..yet, now, he felt a sudden pull in his soul.

"_Strange. Who could be out there that a soul as old as __mine__ could be attached to?_" the wolf wondered, as he hesitantly left the graveside, and started traveling towards the crystalline city at the foot of his mountain. He never even realized that this step alone would change not only his destiny, but also that of another, as well. But he was about to learn……

Author's Note!

Hope this chapter was all right, since things are swiftly heading to an ending of sorts!

Gemini14


	5. Part Five

Part Five

The city was in an uproar, as healers from all over the planet gathered. Late in the night, each of them had received an urgent call from the Great Leader; knowing deep in their souls that something had happened, and that their powers were desperately needed.

"What's going on? What's happening?" the lone wolf asked, as he moved through the crowd towards the center of the city.

"Leader Lightningtooth is bringing someone here…..a human warrior, by the sounds of things. I think he's a victim of those electrocution rings the Harlock Clan has encountered so often, in recent days." One wolf replied, grimly; his hackles rising at the thought.

"Any idea where the gate will open?" the lone wolf again asked.

"The center of the city. That's where the Great Leader and his mate are heading, so it must be where Leader Lightningtooth will arrive." Another said, in response.

"Thank you." The lone wolf said, then quickly started weaving his way through the crowd; fully intent on getting there in time to see the warrior's arrival on Luviji.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Kagemaru watched in anxious silence, as Marian tended to his now dangerously ill master. They were now within Harlock's quarters, possibly the quietest room on the ship; having decided against taking Hiko back to the sickbay, for the main reason that he'd been so uneasy in there before.

"This looks bad…..his fever is so high, I almost can't manage it." Marian murmured, as she gently placed more cold compresses on the swordsman's brow, chest, and arms.

"Just do what you can." Harlock said, quietly, as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and then gazed at the swordmaster with a grim look in his eye. They were only a couple of hours away from Luviji, and yet, with Hiko's condition quickly deteriorating, it was still too far.

"_Was this all a fool's errand after all? Can this warrior not be saved, no matter how hard we all try?_" Harlock wondered, as the hopelessness of the situation started to set in on him.

"_We can't give up hope yet. Least of all you. True, his strength isn't what it was, but he's still a long way from dead!_" Tochiro Sr.'s voice growled, in the back of Harlock's mind.

"_You're right about that, old friend._" Harlock agreed, even though some of his feelings of failure remained. Almost all of them jumped and turned to look, when a gate began to open across from them, and as Lady Emeraldas, Young Emeraldas, Maya, Angel, Tochiro, and two others hurried through it.

"You came a lot sooner than I had thought, but I'm relieved to see you, all the same." Harlock said, in weary greeting to his friend and those with her. Lady Emeraldas merely nodded, and then watched as one of the strangers approached Hiko's bedside, and tentatively touched the older man's arm; recoiling when he felt how high his fever was.

"This explains why the connection had become so weak……I'm sorry, Shishou…..if only I had known sooner what had happened to you." The man said, as worried tears appeared in his amethyst eyes at the piteous sight the warrior had become.

"_He wouldn't have wanted you to know, Kenshin, since he didn't want to put you in that sort of danger_……_Kichigai's insanity had made him frighteningly sly_……_It would have been child's play for him to have captured you, as well, if you had even attempted to rescue Hiko._" Kagemaru murmured, as he approached the ancient rurouni, and gave him a grave look. And they could all tell that the words were of little comfort, since the look of guilt and grief remained in Kenshin's amethyst eyes.

"Are we close enough to open a gate to Luviji?" Harlock asked, as he then glanced at Lightningtooth for an answer, and hoping that they were. To his relief, the scarred wolf nodded.

"Yes. But moving him now could be dangerous, since his fever is so high." Lightningtooth replied, grimly.

"But we'll need to do just that, if we are to save him." Lady Emeraldas stated, breaking her unusual silence to say that much.

"I agree. If we don't go now, it'll be just as good as not doing anything at all." Marian said, boldly; some of her fiery personality returning as she said that. With no further words on her part, she then approached the swordmaster's bedside again; seeming surprised when Kenshin helped her slowly move Hiko into a sitting position between them…..both of them freezing when he uttered a pained groan in response to being moved, and slowly opened his eyes. At first, he seemed bewildered by seeing the room he was now in, the strangers standing within it, and the one that now helped to support him. The woman at his side couldn't have been older than thirty, yet she seemed to have the confident aura of a doctor about her……much like another woman he remembered, from the distant past.

"Shishou?" Kenshin asked, startling the older man into looking at him……and, for the briefest of moments, Kenshin could have sworn he could see joy in those dark eyes; and could sense his overwhelming relief at seeing him alive and well.

"Where……?" Hiko started to ask, yet grimaced when the effort of speaking brought an incredible pain to his throat.

"Don't try to talk, Shishou. I'll…..answer all of your questions later." Kenshin said, as he did his best to hold his relieved tears back, when he'd sensed that his master's will to live had been somewhat rekindled. With a reluctant nod, Hiko agreed, then he looked at Marian again. For a few moments, it seemed as though time were standing still in the room, yet they all could only allow themselves some gasps, when a silvery light started to surround the Thirteenth master, and when he somehow transferred that light to Marian. With a yelp, Marian leaped to her feet; holding her head as she did so and wincing in agony as the light settled fully into her.

"Marian!" Harlock and Lightningtooth yelped, when they had seen this, and rushed to her side as she started to collapse.

"What…..?.!" Young Emeraldas started to ask, then watched numbly as something that looked to be nothing more than smoke wrenched itself from Marian with a scream of rage and agony, and then disappeared into thin air.

"Marian…..can you hear me? Wake up. Please, wake up." Harlock pleaded, as he held her limp form in his arms. With a slight moan, Marian began to rouse up; flinching slightly when she felt his arms around her, and then slowly opened her eyes.

"Harlock? What happened? Where……? Wait a minute! Your wounds! You shouldn't be….! Hold up…..You look like you're completely healed…..Shit…..What the hell hit me?" Marian muttered, then pushed it all aside and embraced the startled space pirate, "I'm glad you're all right…..that you'd pulled through, somehow."

"Marian…..you remember me?" Harlock asked, his stunned tone proving that he was not quite believing what was happening.

"Yeah….." Marian replied; and, for the first time in years, Harlock felt tears come to his eye…..yet, this time, they were tears of joy.

"Shishou, what did you do?" Kenshin questioned, also not quite believing what he'd just seen happen in front of him.

"I sensed……a demonic presence…..The likes…..of which…..I haven't sensed…..in centuries." Hiko said, and gave all of those in the room a look that told them everything.

"So you used your own power to drive it out……" Tochiro mumbled, and got a nod from the swordmaster as a response.

"_His powers are similar to how Mother's had been, long ago. I haven't seen a pure, blinding light like __that__ in a long time._" Lady Emeraldas mused, as she watched Harlock stand, and then help Marian to her feet.

"It seems I now owe you a tremendous debt, Hiko." Harlock said, not ashamed to admit this, in the slightest. For this, he only got a rueful glance from the ailing swordsman, and then a shake of his head for an answer.

"Shishou?" Kenshin asked, when he felt the older man's ki waver.

"Just…..need to rest….Baka Deshi….." Hiko whispered, no sooner saying that, when his eyes abruptly shut, and consciousness left him, once again.

"Shishou!" Kenshin yelped, as he barely managed to balance his master's weight against him long enough for Harlock and Marian to return to his side.

"His fever is climbing again….." Marian almost whispered, fearing for the swordsman's life, now.

"Get that gate open, Lightning. We're going to Luviji now." Harlock commanded, as he carefully got on Hiko's other side, and lifted him onto his shoulders. With a nod, Lightningtooth did as he was told, and opened his gate.

"Tochiro, be sure to tell Kei that we have gone on ahead, and have her relay that message to Young Harlock and Zero when they get here, as well." Harlock said, as he turned and gave the young engineer a grim look.

"Hai!" Tochiro shouted, then raced off to go and tell Kei of what he'd been told.

"What do you want us to do, Harlock?" Lady Emeraldas asked, in turn.

"It's your choice, Emeraldas." Harlock replied, even though he knew what she would be doing in the meantime.

"Then we'll stay here and keep an eye out for trouble." Lady Emeraldas said; understanding what he'd meant without even needing to ask. Within moments, the current and previous captains of the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ had returned to their ship; determined to keep any potential attackers away from the wolf planet at all costs.

"_I just hope this isn't a case of 'Too little, too late'._" Kuromaru quietly said, as he and his father followed their masters through the gate itself.

"_We can only hope, at this point, my son._" Kagemaru murmured, as they emerged into the early morning sunlight on the other side of the gate, and were greeted by the numerous wolves that were gathered just beyond it.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

It was with great resignation that Zero had allowed Sanosuke to be moved from the sickbay by stretcher. From his place in one of the doorways to the hangar, he could see the efforts being made to keep the gravely ill man comfortable during the short trip through Fang's gate.

"Shouldn't we be going along with them?" Drake asked, as he looked up and gave his master a scrutinizing look.

"Unfortunately, this is one of those occasions when we're going to have to trust Harlock more than we would like." Zero replied; speaking not only for himself, but also for the human half of his crew, as well. With a reluctant nod, Drake agreed; Sanosuke's condition had deteriorated so much, that not even the _**Karyu**_'s sickbay could help him anymore…..his only hope lay in the mysterious powers the Luvijians seemed to have.

"_Be right about this, Harlock._" Zero thought, as he watched Fang's gate open, and as Young Harlock carefully picked up and carried Sanosuke through it; silently hoping against all hope that the brave 'renegade' would survive.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

The lone wolf could only watch, as a gate opened right in front of him, and as two wolves, three humans, and two great cats emerged from it.

"It can't be……" the wolf muttered, when he'd seen the two great cats; his heart almost stopping, when he saw how familiar one of them looked. Yet, before he could even get close enough to ask, he was blocked by a group of healers that had rushed up to see about the man the black-clothed man and the red-haired man now somehow supported between them, despite the vast differences in height.

"How awful! Get him to a place where they can lay him down! Hurry!" one healer said, and they turned to help them make their way through the crowd. With some desperation mounting, the lone wolf followed the group to the place the healers had set up as a base of operations; watching with growing numbness in his soul as the wounded man in question was placed with care on a makeshift bed.

"_He looks so much like him_….._It's uncanny! I could almost be led to believe that this is his son, since they resemble one another so closely!_" the lone wolf thought, as he forced himself to close the distance between himself and the strangers. Immediately, one of the great cats noticed him approaching; his jaw dropping when he got close enough to see who he was.

"_W-winter_……_Is that __you__, old friend?.!_" The elder great cat asked, with true disbelief in his tone as he spoke. At this, the lone wolf allowed his first smile in many, many years to cross his ageless face.

"Indeed…..and it is good to see you again, my friend. It has been far too long." The wolf stated; his voice wavering slightly with emotion as he spoke.

"_It has, indeed_……_I had all but given you up for dead, soul brother, since it had been hundreds of years since we had spoken last._" Kagemaru said, tearfully, as he and the silvery-white wolf greeted one another formally by touching foreheads, and then bowing.

"Who is this, Kagemaru-kun?" Kenshin asked, when he'd noticed the newcomer and had decided to step away from his master's side, so the healers could get started in their work.

"_This, young Kenshin, is an old friend of mine_….._from the time of the First Master. This is Winter. Winter, this is the Fourteenth inheritor of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Himura Kenshin._" Kagemaru introduced. At first, the pair didn't quite know what to make of one another, then Kenshin bowed politely to the wolf in respect.

"Fourteen generations…….It's hard to believe that many have come and gone, since our master had died, isn't it, Kagemaru?" Winter asked, as an ancient sadness filled his deep blue eyes…..a sadness Kenshin had seen on quite a number of occasions in his own master's gaze.

"_Too true_……_But I have to correct you on one thing, old friend._" Kagemaru stated, as a slight, weary smile appeared on his feline features.

"What might that be?" Winter asked, his curiosity just barely breaking through the grief on his face.

"_The Thirteenth master, Kenshin's master, is still alive. He didn't die when the ougi was passed on._" Kagemaru said, and as realization began to emerge from within Winter, as well.

"Then that means……that man those two were carrying…… he is……" Winter muttered, this fact alone enough to get him to sit down hard on the cobblestone pathway. Kagemaru nodded.

"_Even though he's very ill right now, he is the strongest master of the Heaven's Dragon sword school I have ever seen. I daresay that his power equals that of the First Master._" Kagemaru stated, as he began leading the stunned wolf back to where Hiko now lay. When they arrived in the place where the healers had gathered, they could see that they were already hard at work. A Death-Healer was seated on Hiko's left hand side, her paw placed gently over his heart; keeping death from claiming him. At her side, a Life-Healer was replenishing the energy the swordmaster had lost, and giving him the strength to hold on for a while longer. Several Water-Casters and Air-Casters could be seen on both sides; striving to keep his fever down with their powers.

"_Come. Our place is at our master's side._" Kagemaru said, as he returned to Hiko's side.

"Our master?" Winter asked, as he moved closer as well; taking note that the black-clothed man, the woman, and the two wolves were still there, and watching what was happening before them. Kagemaru again nodded.

"_Yes. Surely you have sensed by now the connection your soul has to his? He is your master as certainly as he is mine_….._Has been for many years._" Kagemaru said, his loyalty to the downed warrior surprising Winter to no end.

"I'd always thought you were the independent feline, Shadow-Boy." Winter murmured, with a rueful smile.

"_Time changes all, Fuyu. Even me._" Kagemaru retorted, with some humor returning to his voice and eyes (even though those near them were gazing at them in some confusion).

"Wonders never do cease, soul-brother….." Winter muttered, chuckling when the great cat snorted in response. And yet, despite Winter's reservations, he couldn't deny the kinship and (dare he say it?) completeness his soul felt, the closer he got to the ill swordsman's side.

"Kagemaru? Do you know this wolf?" the black wolf that had been sitting near the man's left-hand side asked, confusedly.

"_Yes. This is my soul-brother, Winter. He had also been a guardian of the First Master, countless years before, right alongside me. Winter, this is Lightningtooth and his master, Captain Harlock. It was these two that had found Hiko when he had desperately needed the help._" Kagemaru stated, a she introduced them to one another.

"And I'm Marian and this is Aura." The woman at the man's side added, with a hint of annoyance in her voice over having been overlooked.

"Good to meet you all." Winter said, even as his heart did a flip in his chest when he made eye contact with Aura; deciding to put that aside for the moment, and follow up when Hiko was well again.

"_It is good to see that this ancient soul has finally found his way back to the side of the one that needs his strength_….._But there are still many trials ahead, this much I know for certain_……" The Great Leader mused, as he quietly left the area; his mind burdened by the visions he had seen, and how they would soon come to fruition, through this twist of fate…….

_**Owari**_

****

**_Author's Note!_**

**_Grr...This damned site has screwed up yet another chapter, and yet again I had to correct it! I hope this made some sense, minna, since I pretty much wrote down what came to mind! Thanks for reading!_**

**_Gemini14_**


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